Kevin Mullan

Published:14:39Updated:14:52Thursday 21 January 2016

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Homeowners in Londonderry were once again among the least likely in the whole of the United Kingdom to claim for burglary on their home insurance last year with only the burghers of little Harbury, in Shakespeare’s leafy Warwickshire, posting less claims in 2015.

The BT48 post-code, which covers the Cityside, Ballynagard, Coshquin, Rosemount, The Collon and Culmore, was the second least likely in the United Kingdom to claim, of all post-code areas where claims were actually registered.

Just 0.9 of every 1,000 Londonderry home insurance quotes run on the MoneySuperMarket site in the 12 months to December contained details of a claim for burglary made in the past two years.

In Harbury 0.7 of every 1,000 quotes did.

MoneySuperMarket analysed two million home insurance quotes run on the website over the last two years, to identify the postcodes with the highest and lowest rate of claims (made over a five year period) for theft of contents from the home.

South Tulse Hill and Dulwich postal district SE21 is the number one claims hotspot, with a rate of 61.2 such claims per 1,000 quotes and Manchester (M21), Leeds (LS5) and Milton Keynes postcodes (MK46) also feature in the top 202.

Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Burglars have two thoughts uppermost in their minds: where am I most likely to find something worth stealing and where am I least likely to get caught?

“Our findings suggest thieves favour busy urban areas where strangers are unlikely to be spotted and it’s easy to make a quick getaway. But leafy suburbs are also heavily targeted, with burglars following the money to affluent areas.

“The best way to avoid the emotional turmoil and financial distress associated with a burglary is to be vigilant, make a concerted effort to secure your home and put in place the safety net of appropriate contents insurance in case the worst should happen.

“Contents insurance represents great value - the average cost of combined buildings and contents cover is £110. But anyone who hasn’t switched for a number of years will probably be paying substantially more, making it important to shop around for a more competitive price the next time the policy is up for renewal.

“Householders can also now check the MoneySuperMarket Burglary Claims calculator to see whether they live in a high risk area.”

MoneySuperMarket’s analysis reveals there are 83 postal districts with no recorded claims for theft from the home over the last five years3. Of the postcodes with low rates of claims for theft, Harbury, near Leamington Spa (CV33), benefits from the lowest rate, with 0.7 claims per 1000 quotes4. Wiltshire’s Amesbury and Durrington (SP4), famous for the heritage site Stonehenge, also features, with a rate of 1.2 claims per 1,000 quotes, alongside the Welsh university town Aberystwyth (SY23) and rural Abercraf (SA9).